August 2012

Summer furlough in the states & the Olympics…

As I write this update, we are unpacking from our recent trip to the states. We arrived back in Tennessee in mid-June and were able to visit many family members, friends and supporters of ours, as well as cheering for the Hungarian Summer Olympic Team!
It was a good summer of seeing family, meeting new nephews, nieces and cousins, and sharing with new friends about our ministry opportunities here in Central Europe.
Before returning to Budapest last week, we headed to Ohio to drop-off Tyler at Cedarville University. He will be pursuing a degree in their Electrical Engineering program.
It’s always tough to leave our family in the states, but we’re excited about getting back into the normal routine of school and ministry.
Please pray for our kids as they begin another year of school; Grant (11th grade) Josie (7th grade) and MaryBeth (4th grade). Please pray also for Debbie as she will possibly be assisting the Supplementary Services department at I.C.S.B. this year.

Teammates Returning to Hungary Soon! …

Kevin & Joy Phillips have been in the states for over 2 years raising their support to return to Hungary full time. They served here for a 2-year period back in 2009-2010. We’re grateful that they are close to 100% of their needed monthly support and are now completing their Outfit & Passage funds. The Phillips are a vital part of the ABWE Hungary team and we’re excited to welcome them back to the church planting ministry here in Central Europe very soon.

Upcoming Ministry Schedule …

As I mentioned earlier, we returned to Hungary on August 23rd. Grant will start his junior year at ICSB (International Christian School of Budapest) on Monday, August 27th.
From September 18th-29th we will be in Burgas, Bulgaria meeting with our entire team from the CEEMed region. During this time we will be conducting our semi-annual team leaders meetings, as well as meeting with the other members of the ABWE Vision team.
Our weekly ESL classes are set to start on Monday, September 10th. We are excited to see our returning students again along with some new ones hopefully. Our students range in age from teenagers to grandparents. It’s both a joy and a privilege to be able to teach them. Last year there were a number of them that accepted Christ as Savior and we pray that more will make that decision in the coming year.
Please pray that we will have many opportunities to share the gospel with them and that they will be receptive to the truth.

Tyler’s Summer Ministry in Hungary…

As I mentioned in our last update, Tyler spent most of the summer here in Hungary serving as a part of a Hungarian Youth outreach ministry called SpeakOut. He spent 4 weeks in Keszthely, Hungary and had the opportunity to share Christ numerous times with his campers.

The first week that he was there was dedicated to training. Campus Crusade’s “Four Spiritual Laws” was the foundation for their evangelism efforts. Each week Tyler served as a tutor group leader to 3-6 Hungarian teenagers. It was challenging at times for him to be able to communicate with the guys, but he was able to effectively share the gospel with each of them multiple times.

The highlight of his time at SpeakOut came during the final week when one of his campers accepted Christ as Tyler led him through the plan of salvation through a Hungarian translator. Praise the Lord!

We are thankful that he was able to spend the additional time in Hungary this summer and we are grateful to those who committed both prayers and finances for him to be there.

Engagement Announcement …

We are excited to share the news that our oldest son Brian is engaged! He and his fiancé, Ariel Vaughan, will be married next May. Brian is finishing his college classes this December and will walk with his graduating class at Bryan College on May 11, 2013. Their wedding will take place on May 31, 2013.

May 2012

Beautiful Spring Weather in Central Europe…

As the weather changes for the better here in Hungary, so too our schedule changes in many ways. We recently  finished our ESL classes for the Spring and now look forward to beginning them again in the Fall. It’s been a wonderful year of building relationships with Hungarians through the teaching of English as a second language.
The kid’s school year is also quickly coming to an end. Tyler will be graduating on June 9th from the International Christian School of Budapest. He will be spending some additional time here in Hungary this summer serving with a Hungarian youth ministry called “SpeakOut”. During the month of July he will be teaching English and sharing the Gospel with Hungarian teenagers. You can read more about it below.
The rest of the family will be heading to the states on June 13th for about 10 weeks. Tyler will head back in August to begin college at Cedarville University in their electrical engineering program. Please pray for us as we step away from ministry here in Hungary until we return in late August.

New Teammates in Slovakia!...

It’s always an exciting time to have new teammates arrive to our region. Last month we welcomed the Jason & Adele Rice family. The Rice’s left southwest Pennsylvania to begin their ministry to Slovaks. They have 3 young boys; Gavin, Peyton and Dawson. The Rice’s will be spending much of their time on language acquisition, but will also begin serving in a Slovak Baptist church in the town of Bernolákovo.


Team Leaders Meetings in Poland...

Last month I spent a week in Sopot, Poland with our team leaders from all of the Central & Eastern Europe countries where ABWE has teams. It was a wonderful week of hearing about what God is doing in each of those countries.
Part of our time was spent focusing on team personnel needs and what some of the current challenges and opportunities are in church planting movements throughout our region.
We also concentrated on the training programs that are available from our ABWE Resource Team for national church leaders and pastors. By utilizing ABWE facilities in Ukraine & Moldova, we can bring quality theological training to the men who are multiplying their churches for the cause of the Gospel. We meet twice a year with these team leaders. Our next time together will be just prior to our biannual regional conference with all of our teammates which will be in September.



Tyler's Summer Ministry in Hungary...

As I mentioned earlier, Tyler will be graduating from high school in June and will be heading to Cedarville University in the fall. But before he says “goodbye” to Hungary, he’ll be spending the month of July sharing his faith with Hungarian students as well as teaching English. 

Tyler has been involved with Hungarian youth ministry for the last 2 years here and has had opportunities to build relationships with students in the local public schools and at youth events in Budapest. 

He is looking to raise $1,600 in financial support and also to build a prayer support team. If you are interested in supporting Tyler financially, you can do so online by visiting the following website: http://www.abwe.org/give/online. Just specify our family name and we will see that it goes into Tyler’s support account. If you could follow-up with an email to us, that would also be helpful. Please pray for Tyler as he serves here in Hungary this summer and as he transitions to college later this year.

February 2012

Breaking Through the Ice...

Recently I was in downtown Budapest and was able to stop and take a few “cool” pictures of the Danube River. This is one of my favorites. What made it interesting was the ice flow that was making its way down the river. It hasn’t been cold enough here in Hungary for many years to cause the Danube to freeze like this. Specially-outfitted boats were brought in to break the ice and allow for normal river traffic to resume.

It reminded me of the way that ministry has to be done many times here in Central Europe. Sometimes it seems as though the message that is being proclaimed is not “moving” people at all and that their hearts are frozen in place, but we know that God’s Word is powerful and can change lives by breaking through the hardest of hearts. The method, person, or opportunity that He will use to break through the ice with people is not always known ahead of time. Our responsibility is to be faithful presenters of the Gospel, knowing that God’s timing is perfect in every situation. Please pray for continued opportunities to share.

Hungary’s National Airline Goes Out of Business...

On February 3^rd the Hungarian national airline, Malev, closed its doors after 66 years of service. More than 7,000 passengers were stranded in various countries as the airline ceased operations abruptly at 6am.

Malev’s plight reflects difficulties being faced by several other European airlines in light of the debt crisis and a likely return to recession in the

Eurozone. Malev was founded in 1946 and had 2,600 employees, most of which are now without a job.

Hungary continues to struggle with poor economical conditions, and currently ranks last among the European Union’s most indebted eastern members. Many of its younger citizens are looking to relocate to other countries because of the poor job market and high unemployment.

Village ministry in Tapolca, Hungary...

It never fails that the Lord brings people into our lives that encourage us in ways we never expected.

Recently, we had the opportunity to reconnect with a friend that helped in the packing of our shipping container back in August of 2010. He has been a part of leading ministry teams to the neighboring country of Romania for many years now.

Earlier this month, he and his team were returning from a week of ministry in Romania and had a couple of days to spend here in Budapest. We took the opportunity to spend a day in the village of Tapolca, Hungary which is about 2 hours from our house. We assisted some missionaries there with their weekly ESL ministry and made some new Hungarian friends as well.

As it turns out, the missionaries in Tapolca were also looking for some help with their summer English camp this July. As our friends checked their calendar, they realized that they will be back in Europe during those weeks and will most likely be able to assist in that ministry opportunity. What a blessing!

Hungary is the world’s most “unhappy” country…

According to portfolio.hu, an online financial journal, the world has become happier since 2007, while Hungarians have become the least happy nation of all. This is according to a new poll conducted by the global research company, IPSOS.

It is citizens in Europe who drag the global average assessment of happiness downward as only one in six (15%) say they are 'very happy’. Nationally, Indonesia scores the happiest out of the 24 countries surveyed with just over half (51%) of citizens reporting they are 'very happy’ followed by India and Mexico at 43% each. Brazil and Turkey tied at 30% each and Australia and the United States each at 28%.

As you can see on the chart above, Hungary’s adult population was found to be the gloomiest of all. Sadly, many Hungarians have turned to the idea that more money is required to find true happiness. Their government has let them down, their religions have disappointed them, and they don’t know where to turn for real meaning in their lives. Please pray for the country of Hungary to see a revival take place and for its citizens to realize that without Christ there is no real peace or joy.